Indian Ocean rowing attempt imminent

A 36-YEAR-OLD Victorian policeman and his eight-man crew are preparing for a world record attempt to row 8500km across the Indian Ocean.

Tim Spiteri and his team expect to depart from Geraldton in Western Australia's Mid West region in coming days, weather permitting, with the aim of reaching Durban in South Africa in less than 57 days.

The epic journey could take as little as 50 days and as much as 70 days, the crew estimate.

They will be totally unsupported, with each rower manning the oars for two hours followed by two hours of rest in a continuous shift cycle.

They say no rowing crew has ever made the crossing non-stop as most teams end their journey in Mauritius, which is about 1700km from mainland Africa.

Mr Spiteri, whose mother suffers from multiple sclerosis and is writing a children's book about the voyage, hopes to raise $250,000 for MS Australia.

He has so far raised more than $26,000.

Mr Spiteri completed an Atlantic Ocean crossing last year in 35 days, 12 hours and 41 seconds, which was the sixth fastest crossing in history.

Last year, Dutch adventurer Ralph Tuijn was attempting to row solo across the Indian Ocean when a tanker struck him in the darkness of night while he was some 2000km from Cocos Island and about 4600km from the Australian mainland.